Tomorrow's Monday, Which Means It's Almost the Weekend

Believe it or not, I had a relatively quiet day this week, and, even on that day, Thursday, I spent the whole afternoon exploring the city. I think that I’ve said it before and to anybody who has asked, but the adventures literally never stop here. It’s almost like constantly being on vacation, but with classes that we attend a few days a week.

After a night out at the theater for class on Tuesday, it really did feel like the weekend for the rest of the week, so, in keeping with the midweek weekend theme, Cat, Nick, Kyla, and I went to see The Lion King on Wednesday night. The theater offered a student discount, so we paid for their least expensive ticket and, in return, received seats valued at three times that price in the first balcony. Overall, it was an entertaining show, but the performance felt stale and failed to live up to much of the hype that has surrounded the show for the past fifteen years. Although the opening sequence to “The Circle of Life” certainly showcased the production’s legendary costumes and stage settings – this production, unlike the touring productions, included a pride-rock staircase that twisted up and down in and out of the stage – even the opening spectacle, in a twist of irony, lacked life and vibrancy, an issue that plagued much of the first act. We attributed some of these issues to the actor playing the young Simba – a fourth understudy, we assumed that he worked the weeknight shows so that the best actor could save his limited weekly hours for the sell-out weekend shows – but, as I said, the entire cast seemed to play the roles without very much depth.

Fortunately, the second portion of the show revived much of our interest, thanks in large part to the actor and actress playing the older versions of Simba and Nala, respectively. The two carried the show much better than any of the characters in the first portion did, and they used their complex costumes to enhance their roles, rather than hiding behind them or simply using them to go through the motions. This increase in the caliber of acting combined with stronger instrumental music in the second portion of the show to go a long way towards redeeming this production of the show.

As usual, Thursday brought Global London far to early in the morning. After class, I decided to take advantage of the sunny, warm afternoon and go walking in the city. I repeated much of the walk along the east end of the Thames from last week, but this time it was sunny and not bitterly cold. I crossed Millennium Bridge and walked all the way down to Tower Bridge along the southern bank of the river. Instead of turning back, I crossed Tower Bridge and walked over to the Tower of London complex. Although the castle itself charges admission and had already closed for the day, I did see the plaza area and the exterior of the tower. On my way back to the flats, I walked a few blocks north of the river into the City’s banking district and found the square near the Bank of England, Lloyds of London, and the Royal Exchange. Tomorrow, I will be meeting my economics class there for our tour of the Bank of England.

St. Paul's Cathedral from Millennium Bridge

In the evening, I booked and flight and hostel for a trip to Poland in April. At this point, I will be travelling to Milan, Cinque Terre, Florence, Berlin, and Dublin for spring break; to Krakow in Poland in early April; to Edinburgh, potentially, the week before Easter; and to Rome for Easter. Although a light schedule by the standards of many students in the London Program, it is nevertheless a full schedule with many exciting opportunities that will take me into or through five different countries in Europe outside of the UK.

Friday afternoon brought another session at the British Library after I worked on a job application in the morning. In the evening, then, I went to Chinatown for dinner with Hal, Michelle, Cat, and David Bratton, who spent the weekend visiting London from his program in Toledo, Spain. Strings of lanterns covered the streets in preparation for this weekend’s Chinese New Year celebrations. We stopped at The Friendly Inn and, fortunately, found an open table on a busy Friday night. Since all of the chicken dishes were less expensive than all of the dishes involving other meats, we shared four different iterations of chicken at our table.

In order to introduce David to a true London pub, we went over to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese after dinner, where we met Lauren, Nick, and Kyla. We crammed into a booth on their first basement level and stayed for a drink before moving on to another pub just down the road from our flats. We stopped for a drink and were enjoying the lively yet very comfortable environment until we decided to leave, when we realized that, unfortunately, a pickpocket had stolen the cash from a member of our group, casting a shadow over an otherwise enjoyable evening.

Early on Saturday morning, I met Hal, Nick, David, and Kyla in the courtyard to walk all of the way across town to catch a train out to Windsor, where we visited Windsor Castle. Dating to the time of William the Conqueror, a number of English monarchs over the centuries constructed first defensive fortifications and later lavish palaces within the walls of the castle, often using vast sums of resources to do so. Today, Queen Elizabeth II still uses the palace, which has housed occupants for a longer period of time than any other in Europe.

The Round Tower at Windsor Castle

From the train station, we easily spotted the castle at the top of a large hill to our left. A couple of blocks from the station, we picked up a long path that wound up and around the side of the hill to the entrance of the castle. After we paid for our admission – which, thanks to validation, is now good for a whole year – we entered the castle walls and joined a free tour. Our guide showed us around the exterior areas and gave us historical information about the architectural decisions made by kings and queens throughout history. He left us at the entrance to the interior of the palace, where we saw Queen Mary’s Doll House, the entry chambers, the hall of the Order of the Garter, many of the private rooms used by monarchs of the past, and a portion of the residence used regularly by the Queen to this day. All of the rooms featured some combination of intricate woodcarvings, gold plating, massive original works of art, and heaps of historical artifacts used by monarchs throughout history. Historical artifacts from eight hundred years worth of powerful monarchs combine to create a beautiful collection and a very impressive display. I highly recommend a visit to the castle for those visiting London with any interest in history, particularly the history of Britain.

Our Group at Windsor Castle

From Left to Right:

Kyla, Hal, David, Nick, and Me

We followed up our day of travel with a quiet evening of dinner and a movie in the flats. I made Mexican Lasagna, with turned out alright, even with white instead of yellow cheddar cheese.

This morning, we went to Saints Peter and Paul Church near the flats for a quick mass. In the afternoon, Lauren and I went down to check out the New Years Celebrations in Chinatown. We hoped to find friends, but the crowd was large and we just went through Trafalgar and Chinatown on our own.

Me in Chinatown

During the Chinese New Year Celebration

Well, I am heading out for the evening to find a pub showing the Superbowl. I hope that I did justice to my week, particularly the impressive Windsor Castle, and I look forward to sharing more soon.


Until then,

Joel